Reviews by eclipse54:

A corked and caged 750 mL bottle that I purchased today at the co-op; from the most recent release. Poured into a DFH signature glass.

Cork removes with practically no effort, and an extremely loud “pop” follows. I actually made towards the sink at this point, expecting a gusher, but luckily it all stayed in the bottle. A gentle pour produced a 50/50 mix of liquid and head in the snifter, roughly three finger’s width of each. Body is a dark, opaque brown that appears nearly black. Head is very fluffy and frothy, light tan/khaki in color. Generous lacing, and highly impressive retention; in fact, I haven’t taken a single sip of this that hasn’t had some foam on top.

Aroma is of tart fruits (date, plum, raisin, grape), hefty caramel, some toffee, and dark cocoa. Some faint yeast aroma is also present.

It tastes starkingly different, with the brown ale flavors dominating and any semblance of sour fruit amiss. Caramel, toffee, light cocoa, a hint of vanilla, some oak, and something reminiscent of lager yeast are all present in abundance. Only a very small amount of raisin, plum, and maybe date are present. It's not sour at all, and there is a noticeable alcohol presence on the finish.

Mouthfeel is a bit overcarbonated, but this actually helps lift the otherwise sticky base off of the tongue. The sugars linger a bit, giving a dry finish.

Overall, it's a gorgeous looking beer, but a bit of a let down after that. Not at all sour, making it just a brown ale in essence. It's very good for a brown ale, but I was expecting some form of enamel ripping goodness. The barrel is more subdued than anticipated. In sum, a good brown ale, not a sour ale. I'd say leaving it in the bottle for longer periods of time may help, but it was already overcarbonated, so perhaps it's best stored away from other fragile bottles/objects.

More User Reviews:

Thanks to Jeff for the bottle share. It pours a deep, deep, burnt-brown color, almost appearing pitch black once it finally makes it to the glass. It's completely opaque, capped off with a thick and lasting, foamy tan head; it's huge, vibrant, and leaves some nice patches of chunky lacing on its way down.

The aroma is pretty enigmatic; a mild fruity and heavily floral mixture, bombarded with a slew of many, many other things. Mild cocoa powder, vanilla hints, plums and dates, licorice, dry oak, weird spices like sage or coriander, and a hefty dose of cheese-cloth funk, moldy hay, and horsey barnyard. Doesn't smell very tart, mainly just floral and funky. Not bad, but really, really weird.

Some roast and chocolate exhibits the first sip; this beer is surprisingly not sour at all. I kind of went into thing expecting something along the lines of a Flanders Oud Bruin, a la La Folie, but I was quite mistaken. The flavor profile is more strange and weird than the aroma, and I already know I'm going to have a difficult time describing this one.

Earth, dirt, deep black licorice, heavy perfume and florals, laced with rotten cherry, wet and moldy wood, funky cheese, sweat, horseblanket and musty cellar, and a touch of pineapple from the Brett. Unabashed funk, to an unnecessary degree. This beer is not very good, and as it got warmer, it only got worse. The funk leaves a pretty rough aftertaste and makes this beer hard to drink.

The problem is the lack of balance. All funk and pungent, perfume-like floral notes combine on your palate to form the worse aftertaste imaginable. Where is the tartness that everyone else seems to pick up? Medium bodied, ample carbonation, and a someone oily and sticky mouth feel. I tried to like this beer, and it sounds like something I'd love, but it's just a rambling attempt at a Bretted brown and actually pretty difficult to finish.

Poured into a chalice. It's looking to be deep mahogany in color with ruddy highlights and an ultra thin layer of brown foam spread across the top.

This is a very complex beer, especially the aroma. Black currant, black cherry, vanilla, subtle brett, a devil's food note in there. Very nice. It's important to note how tame the brett is at this stage. It's in there, but not dominating at all. Very well done.

It doesn't taste quite as good as it smells, for me. It's chocolaty and medicinal, an odd combo. Dark berries friending the medicinal brett character on facebook, working together nicely. There is some red wine character. The alcohol is noticeable and ever so slightly distracting. It's full-bodied with very fine carbonation, which starts out a bit strong, but opens up nicely and starts to work in its favor as I drink on.

A quite deep mahogany. Against the light you can detect the deep ruby notes on the edges. Big, dirty-white head. Fat lacing and respectable retention. This head is sticking at a half-finger and going nowhere. Love the nose. Pungent, overripe fruit, wood, banana peel and the unmistakeable brett funk. Quite a bit of carbonation up front which dances on the tongue and peppers it with hits of funk and bready malt. That carries through the front 2/3rds and the back end flattens into a tangy, languid malaise. Truth be told, I like this beer a lot, but the back end nearly makes me question that decision.

From a 2012 bottle poured into a snifter. Local bar had it cellared.
Pours a nearly opaque, deep brown with hints of ruby in the light that barely makes it through this very dark beer. A thin, dark tan head that quickly fades to some light dusting.
The aroma is leather and cherry and oak.
The first sip is quite remarkable: WOW. Crazy, dark fruit and black cherry and then a hit of tart and funk. Maybe a bit of dark chocolate and spice. i even get a hint of cinnamon as it warms. I don not notice the alcohol at all.
The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with just a hint of carbonation left.
Overall, this is a beer that has aged beautifully. Wish I had a bottle.

750ml bottle. Pours a dark opaque brown with a large bubbly rocky off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is musty earthy yeast with a tart acidic sourness and lots of brett in the background.

The flavor is sweet sugary chocolate and caramel malts up front with some dark fruits that leads to an acidic brettiness in the finish with notes of bitter leather. As it warms some vanilla comes out. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, this didn't taste as good as the times I've had it on draft. This is maltier and sweeter with the weird leathery notes. The draft version seemed milder (lower alcohol?) with more brett present.

Decent lacing on the glass, not pitch black but close. Big aroma of dark malt, toasty wood, tart cherries and minty phenols. Medium body with an all around decent smoothness and crisp bite. Creamy maltiness pulls hard on the palate with a drying woody flavor. Light on the hops though the peppery alcohol and herbal phenols help to balance. Kiss of tart cherries. Slight roasted grain is dry and bready. A breath of alcohol, dry finish with wood fading fruit.

The 10% plays like it is not that big, Brett and barrel have won my taste buds over.

The beer pours a dark brown color with an off-white head. The aroma is brett with some oak and cherries. The flavor starts off as that of a nutty brown ale and then you get a lot of lot of complexity. I get some cherries, bourbon, brett, oak, vanilla and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. A unique beer and one that I think really works well.

Drinkability: This is an odd one, albeit quite good. Slightly reminds me of Three Philosophers, which is a Quad with a touch of Kriek. Whatever this is, it is a great sipper, and very different from the 12 ounce bottles that Odell makes. Shows how versatile they are as a brewery.

From notes. Had on tap at the Bryant Lake Bowl and from a bottle.
L: Pours deep ruby tinted chestnut under a fluffy, persistent, clingy 2” cream colored foam collar that creeps up over the rim of the glass.
S: Tart fruit aromas.
T: Does not taste as tart and fruity as it smells. It is sour but very rich caramel and malt ball chocolate seasoned by light roast provide sufficient balance.
F: Medium full body with very soft, creamy carbonation.
O: a delightful, very well crafted American Wild Ale.

S- I really like the smell of this brew, excellent funky scents. Pick up lots of pineapple not so much barnyard. Also the base brown beer adds some nice malt scents and a touch of hop.

T- Not as much sour as I would like but that always seems to be the case, it just needs a year or two to dry out a touch and sour up. Besides the slight sourness the base beer adds nice coffee flavors and roasted malt flavors.

M- Perfect mouthfeel. The slight sourness adds enough scrubbing power to wash away the stickyness of the thick brown ale.

D- Pretty good drinkability especially for 10% abv. I had no trouble finishing the 750ml.

Saboteur has a rich dark brown color with red highlights when held up to light. The thin off-white head settles almost immediately. A thin sheet of lace is left behind.

Aroma is evident as soon as the cork is popped and it's simply wonderful. A seemingly simple brown ale base with a light toast is overlain with mild sour funk from the wild yeast and vanilla from the oak barrels.

Flavor is quite special as well. Again, flavor is similar to a toasty brown ale, almost a porter. Then the wild yeast comes through with tart cherries and port wine. There's a little sweetness in the way of caramel and toffee. The oak is nicely judged - good vanilla. Very complex and good depth of flavors.

Mouthfeel is medium-plus in body with ample carbonation (maybe too much) and alcohol that could be a bit on the high side. These factors are probably the main downside of an otherwise a great beer.

Overall very tasty brew. The brett is mild but this would be a great intoduction to wild beers. I think this one will age really well given the alcohol content and that the funk will further develop with the passing months or even years. I'm looking forward to Odell's future offerings - they're definately getting pretty creative. Of course their regular offerings have always been impressive.

Split the large bottle with a few friends that enjoy sours. I'll say upfront, I wished this beer was more complex and that I'd let it sit longer. I want to see more funk. At the same time, I do appreciate the balance struck between the big, mildly sweet cocoa, vanilla and light caramel flavors and the sour lemon tang. I dare say it was a legitimately balanced sour. In fact, the sourness also lightened up the body, making this fairly drinkable for the strength. The malt was big enough to give a nice contrast to the Brett, but I guess I just want it to go a little deeper. Drink this beer if you want something big and different from a sour.